I've liked Full Metal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, and Ghost in the Shell. Mostly, though, I find anime to be boring, childish, and doesn't live up to the hype. Obviously I'm watching the wrong stuff.

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I had that same issue for a while, and then I discovered the other stuff. Those are all shounen shows, which are targeted at younger children. That is why it seems childish; on top of it they are action shows, which are a dime a dozen. I would recommend two things: Branch out to the drama or "slice of life" genres which I typically find more entertaining personally, or look up "seinin" anime which are targeted towards an older audience.

I got into anime last year through my boyfriend and I really like it. I'd watched Sailor Moon many years ago but didn't know at the time it was anime. I find some of the characters to be childish, especially some of the girls in the 'slice of life'/romance ones. Actually, I find some of the girls just annoying.

But half way through Attack on Titan, coming to the end of Inuyasha and the Rurouni Kenshin series. I started watching Wolf's Rain but it reminded me too much of Watership Down (which I can't handle- evil bunnies) and I couldn't carry on, but I've got friends who have raved about it. Also, can't bring myself to watch Cowboy Bebop because of the name but have been thoroughly told off for that because it's meant to be a good one.

I prefer films to series when it comes to anime. I already have too much time with my face in front of a monitor or TV screen to devote even more time to keeping up with a series. I recently saw Wolf Children and also Summer Wars. Is there a name for that burnt umber outlining I saw in those films? Everything in manga and anime has a name, right?

I can't connect with a lot of anime today because most protagonists are teenagers. I'm no longer a teen, so it's nice to find some anime with more adult characters. I'm currently watching "Le Chevalier D'eon" which is a historical, supernatural anime set in France and available on Hulu.

Some recommendations:
1) Magical Girl Madoka - Not your typical shoujo anime. If you're familiar with Sailormoon, Cardcaptor Sakura, etc, this one will surprise you.
2) Revolutionary Girl Utena - I can't really explain this one, except it's very symbolic and does tackle a lot of struggles with growing up. For example, jealousy, self-esteem, sexuality...it also has a nice feminist theme.
3) Monster - A doctor is framed for a murder and tries to find the killer.
4) Mushishi - A traveler solves supernatural problems in feudal Japan.
5) Kino's Journey - A thinking, philosophical anime, about a girl who visits different cities based on different ideals.
6) Legend of the Galactic Heroes - Epic space opera from the '80s. This one is very very long and full of political intrigue and battles.

I always wanted to get into anime but I have no idea where to begin any advice?

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You'd be best off with one of the shorter series of 24 or 26 episodes rather than leaping into something like Bleach, although popular, is daunting to me because it stretches into hundreds of episodes (and as such, I find the action really gets dragged out).

Sci Fi possibly Escaflowne, old but good. Attack on Titan is very big atm and I'm really enjoying it. They're both short series as far as I'm aware.

Historical the only ones that spring to mind are Berserk- quite nasty actually but it's set in a kind of fantasy medieval world (made my boyfriend shed some manly tears) and Rorouni Kenshin (also seen this series called Samurai X) which is set after Japan's Meiji era revolution when the Samurai became extinct.

I'm sure there are more prolific anime watchers that can suggest better things to get you started, though.